I prioritised creating a safe place for Oldham West, Chadderton and Royton at the election, and now we are in power, we are delivering.
Millions of pounds of new money to tackle shoplifting
Tougher action against criminals who assault retail workers
13,000 additional neighbourhood police and PCSOs back on the street
After a strong campaign by the Co-operative Party to end violence against shopworkers, the Labour and Co-op government is keeping to our manifesto commitments to protect retail workers and make our high streets safer.
This will strengthen the work already done by Oldham Council to reinvigorate our high streets and town centres, including the regeneration projects in and around Spindles.
‘When you go home tell them of us and say, for your tomorrow we gave our today.’
To commerate those who died for our country, I laid a stake in Parliament’s Remembrance Garden for Oldham West, Chadderton and Royton.
It is important we take some time during Remembrance Day today to reflect and remember all those who have given so much for us and for future generations.
The local Labour-led council is driving the improvement of our borough’s heritage, and it deserves credit for prioritising these schemes in very difficult circumstances.
Just over the past few weeks, we have seen the reopening of Royton Town Hall – fully restored for community use and back to its former glory.
Work on the Old Gallery on Union Street is well underway and will be home to a new civic centre linking to the Gallery and Lifelong Learning Centre.
The final piece of the Old Town Hall jigsaw was completed when the magnificent Egyptian Room was opened this weekend, with this stunning venue now supporting local food businesses to establish and grow.
The social history of the borough is also being brought into these plans, not just with the Egyptian Rooms becoming a new hub to meet with friends and family, but the opening of the Hive taking a huge space in the Spindles to help small businesses thrive, and to bring people together.
I also had the opportunity to visit the new indoor market hall which will bring Tommyfield from the edge of town right into the heart of it, sitting between the shopping centre, Parliament Square & the beautiful Old Town Hall.
This new venue will also be home to a new events space, with hundreds being able to use the hall as they do the QE Hall but with the significant advantage of having the new bars and restaurants next door, and closer connection to the Metrolink tram stop on Union Street.
Add to this the work on Yorkshire Street as the High Street accelerator, securing the Oldham Coliseum at Fairbottom Street, taking on the Prudential Building to stop it deteriorating into further ruin, and the wider plans for new housing: our plan is becoming far more than the sum of its parts.
Now we have a Labour government, the council has an active partner in realising the potential of Chadderton, Oldham and Royton with lots still to do; Foxdenton Hall, Oldham Lyceum, both Chadderton and Royton Precincts, and more.
The challenges facing our borough have been significant and I know many remain to be convinced that the plan will make an impact. I hope seeing it come together builds confidence, trust and, importantly, pride in the place we call home.
My final pledge at the election was to boost community ownership so that the people of Oldham West, Chadderton & Royton have a real stake in our community. A backbone of this is through the hub of small businesses we have. There are 730 small businesses based in Oldham, making up 9.8% of total businesses, which is 1% higher the national average.
I, therefore, support the steps taken in the budget to protect small businesses from the raise in employer national insurance. Next year no small business will pay national insurance, and 1 million businesses will pay the same or less national insurance going forward.
The Government is also bringing forward a Small Business Strategy Command Paper to provide further support. This will also hopefully include plans on growing the co-operative economy to support inclusive businesses focused on people from the community working together and supporting each other.
The budget has also pledged to make business rates fairer to protect the high street through permanently lower tax rates for retail, hospitality, and leisure (RHL) properties. Alongside this there will be a 40% relief next year for RHL properties up to a cash cap of £110,000 per business. This will help us to rejuvenate our high streets and put properties back in the hands of co-operators from our community.
Community ownership matters. It dictates what our community looks like, and who has a say over what happens here. I welcome the budget’s support to small businesses as it will promote people from Oldham West, Chadderton & Royton being able to grow their ambition and shape the place we live.
Millions of pounds of new money to tackle shoplifting
Jim McMahon OBE MP 